This post was written by my foodie sister Robin, who is now sharing all of her favorite recipes and kitchen tips regularly on the new “Make It and Love It – in the KITCHEN” portion of this blog. Try a few of her recipes…your belly will thank you! -Ashley

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I’ve been so excited to share this recipe with you. Mostly because it is just as delicious GLUTEN FREE, as it is Gluten FULL. And I’m not just saying that so you’ll give it a try (you know, like, “oh, I swear this spaghetti squash tastes just like regular noodles“. Nah, we all know there’s a big difference!) But I would say that this GF recipe doesn’t even taste one bit like your typical GF baked item. (You know, the typical grainy, dry, blah…) And, I’m in love with my chocolate — so this dessert really makes me happy! (But don’t worry, I share both versions below.)

But wait, you’ve never eaten a Lava Cake before? Okay, imagine this — a nice dome shaped piece of cake-like dessert, with a nice chewy crust around all the edges. The inside is crazy moist and amazingly chocolate-y — but once you cut into the center of the cake, mmmmmmmm, out oozes the rich and creamy lava center. Believe me, a true chocolate lover’s dream!

Oh, and in case you think that you have to fuss with this cake and cut a hole in the top, squirt some fudge inside, and then cover it with your topping to hide it, etc….NOPE! It’s MUCH simpler than that! The secret is in how you bake these mini cakes. The lava effect is made by baking the creamy batter at a hotter-than-normal oven temperature, which creates the shell. Then, you pull it out of the oven before it starts burning the cake but is still nice and moist but the entire inside has been heated thoroughly and has turned into a rich and smooth fudge-y lava. And let me tell you…..it’s perfection!

Grab a bit of cake, scoop up some of the hot fudge-y dreaminess, a bit of the cream — and yum!

This is a rich chocolate dessert, so if you have a hankering for chocolate, this is it. Your mouth and belly will thank you! Also, this is best eaten as close to it coming out of the oven as possible. It’s actually pretty hard to make this ahead of time and still have the great “lava” effect. But don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy to make. So, if you have guests, you can have a good chat while you whip up the batter and pop these in the oven. And then once they take a bite, it’s all worth it!

***NOTE: For Gluten Free Molten Lava Cake, replace the all purpose flour above, with these ingredients***

2 TBS Cornstarch

2 TBS Rice Flour

2 TBS Tapioca Starch

¼ rounded tsp xanthan gum

This is what you need if you are a regular ol’ gluten eater….

But, if you are a “gluten free” type (like Ashley and I are), just replace the flour you see above with this combination:

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and butter your custard cups (the clear dish on the left) or soufflé dishes (the dishes in the middle and right ). I’ll explain why I have three different cups here a little later.

Melting the chocolate is pretty easy. Place the chocolate and your stick of butter in a microwaveable bowl and cook on high for one minute or until the butter is completely melted. You will probably see that the chocolate isn’t completely melted. That is okay. Start mixing the butter and the chocolate with a whisk. The chocolate will finish melting with the help of the melted warm butter.

Stir in the sugar until well blended and then whisk in the eggs and egg yolks. Stir in the flours and xanthan gum (or all-purpose flour if you are a gluten eater), until it is well blended.

Okay, now, do you use custard cups or do you use soufflé dishes? You may already have some at a certain size. Ideally you want a 3/4 cup (6 oz) soufflé but the most common size is the 1 1/4 cup (10 oz) soufflé. The 3/4 cup (6 oz) custard dishes are my favorite to use for this though. Below, I used the same amount of batter for each of the four dishes below (and that used up all my batter). I am using two 3/4 cup (6 oz) custard dishes, a 3/4 cup (6 oz) souffle dish, and a 1 1/4 cup (10 oz) souffle dish down below — just so you can see the difference after they’re baked.

Place the four cups on a cookie sheet and let it bake in the oven for 13 minutes. (You may end up needing a little more/less time…..but it’s hard to tell until you cut one of these open, which would ruin the presentation. A little experimenting may be necessary for your altitude.)

After the 13 minutes, pull them out of the oven and let it sit for one minute so it can set. Oh boy! They smell heavenly.

Use a knife to carefully loosen the cakes off the cups.

Now invert the cakes onto a dessert plate.

Here is how they turned out after they have baked and set for a minute.

The cake that was cooked in a 1 1/4 cup (10 oz) soufflé dish comes out short and squatty.

The cake from the 3/4 cup (6 oz) custard cup gives it more of a mountain shape…….and this is why it’s my favorite!

Additionally, I made a second batch that was gluten free using the custard cups so I can eat one myself you can see how they come out compared to the others. Here is what it looks like. It is very similar only slightly softer than its’ gluten counterparts….but that’s okay, you don’t want to over-bake them!

The first cut through this cake with your fork, is where the dramatics begin. The warm chocolate lava inside will ooze out and satisfy any chocolate lover. The lava effect is made by the hotter-than-normal oven temperature creating the shell. You are pulling it out of the oven before it starts burning the cake and allowing the inside to stiffen. But the entire inside has been heated thoroughly and has turned into a rich and smooth fudge-y lava. And let me tell you…..it’s amazing!

***NOTE: For Gluten Free Molten Lava Cake, replace the all purpose flour above, with these ingredients***

2 TBS Cornstarch

2 TBS Rice Flour

2 TBS Tapioca Starch

¼ rounded tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 425°F and prepare 4 (3/4-cup) custard cups or soufflé dishes by greasing them with butter. Place on baking sheet. Microwave chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in a large microwavable bowl on high for 1 minute, or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour. Divide batter between your 4 prepared custard cups. Bake for 13 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert each cake onto dessert dishes and top with 2 Tbsp of whipped topping and optional hot fudge drizzle. Serve immediately!

**Does not re-heat well because the inner lava will harden and turn into cake if heated up again.

I’ve been looking for Lava Cake recipes and am so glad that you’ve posted one in here. All I have really found are the “cheater lava cakes” that you cut a center out and fill with fudge. I’ve been following the regular blog for about 6 months now – I love that you have joined your sister’s site to provide recipes!! :) I can’t wait to try this one out! I like that you showed the difference in the different types of cups.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to make these. They will be tonight’s treat after FHE, which will be a lesson on–can you guess?–the Word of Wisdom! HA! :) I’ll just remind my boys that they’re a “sometimes” food, and we’ll be good. :D Very excited to have you on the blog, you’re obviously very skilled and talented!